James Delahunty
7 Mar 2006 16:15
The French Government is once again attempting to crackdown on the sharing of copyrighted material online in a bid to overcome a rebellion by its own lawmakers, which aimed to instead introduce a "global license" that would legalise sharing. Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres defended a revised version of the copyright bill ahead of an evening debate at the National Assembly, France's lower house. However, penalties for Internet pirates have been lightened in the latest draft.
Under a Global License, French people could download as much copyrighted material online as they wished for a monthly fee of only a few euros, which would be passed on to rights holders. UFC-Que Choisir, France's largest consumer organization, on Tuesday urged deputies "not to go against the tide of digital history" by abandoning the legalization of file-sharing.
In the initial proposal, jail time and fines of up to €300,000 were proposed as penalties but now the fines have dropped to between €38 and €150. Jail time would be reserved for those who distribute software to circumvent copy protection. "Our objective is reconciliation," Donnedieu de Vabres told lawmakers. The new draft would "ensure that there is a maximum of music and film accessible on the Internet while respecting copyright, the rights of artists and creators who own their work," he added.
There are, of course, more new problems with the latest draft. It would shield DRM technology from challenges under French laws that grant consumers the right to make copies of music and film for private use. Instead a government-appointed panel would supervise DRM mechanisms to make sure they still allow limited private copying. Interestingly it would also force online music stores to sell downloads that can be played on all MP3 players etc. which is bad news for Apple.
A vote is not expected before March 14.
Source:
BusinessWeek